Are you a proactive person?

If you have your Christmas presents all bought already, then you definitely are!

I, on the other hand, am happy I've got all my Halloween candy bought this past week.


Being prepared and having a plan is one key strategy to being a more physically active person.


Why you may ask?

Because when excuses and obstacles come up (they will!) and challenge your ability to move, the plan is there to support you.


One way I can help you today, is to assist you with your planning.


We all know come Halloween, the days start to get colder and potentially the days get shorter (all my Canadian subscribers know this more than ever!!)


And with the change of season, we may need to make some adjustments particularly related to any outdoor activities we may choose.


I say a little prayer every October that the snow (yes, I said it) doesn't arrive until after Halloween. Poor kids traipsing through snow on October 31. I've done it before, have you?

Yet we know the S word is on its way at some point.


There is no time like the present to prepare and today I'm sharing a video with you that I wrote the script and "starred" in many years back. The content is still relevant as we move into the colder season.

NOTE: Although the audience was walking leaders, you too are your very own walking leader! The advice still applies.

Insight to Action:

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What is one suggestion from the video you could implement in your physical activity (it doesn't have to be only walking) to make sure you have a plan for the winter months?

• Update your winter clothing gear?

 

• Learn how to calculate apparent temperature?

 

• Invest in a pair of walking poles?

I invite you to start planning before the S word arrives! ❄️


Stay well and happy moving,

Lisa

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P.S. If you haven't signed up for my online course, Top 3 Problems with Outdoor Walking: A detailed guide to the unexpected tips about outdoor walking, this is the time to prepare for outdoor walking! And it is completely free! 🎉 If you have done the course already, it is time to review it again to ensure you have all the tools ready for the upcoming outdoor walking season.

600 seconds.

That's all the time you need to reap the rewards of physical activity.

Or is it?

Does that sound like a lot of your time? To put it into perspective, your entire day is 86,400 seconds!

Since we typically don't speak of time in seconds, let's go with minutes.

That is 10 minutes out of the 1440 minutes in a day.

Still pretty astounding stuff!

This is the health promoting messaging I speak of every week with my patients:

For as little as 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, you will get health benefits.
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​Yet, this week some new research passed over my desk. Research out of the UK that looked at over 79,000 adults' physical activity and mortality risk.

The research findings concluded that any time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity was beneficial to reduce the risk of death.

So imagine all the combination of ways to accumulate your physical activity in a day!

Got 7 minutes?

Take a walk around the block.

Got 5 minutes?

Climb up and down a set of stairs.

Got less than 3 minutes?

Turn on your favourite song and dance! 🕺🏽

Top 1950's song, Jailhouse Rock is only 2 minutes 26 seconds.

Top 1960's song, Twist and Shout is only 2 minutes 34 seconds.
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Top 1970's song, Love Train is only 2 minutes 58 seconds.

Top 1980's song, The Loco-Motion is only 3 minutes 13 seconds.

Top 1990's song, Wannabe is only 2 minutes 52 seconds.

So many songs to choose from! Here is the Spotify playlist for you!​

Now, we always need to remember that this is only one study and this research was not done on you. There is a growing body of research that is demonstrating the benefits of short duration physical activity.

Time for insight to action:

What are the ways you could build in short duration physical activity into your day?

If you deal with pain, injury or a chronic health condition, could you slice and dice your physical activity into 10 three minute bouts in the day?
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Make a list of all the places in your day that you could sneak in an extra 3 minutes of movement.

Overall, keep in mind that the more you move your body, the more benefits to be had!

Stay well and happy moving,
Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

It can be hard sometimes to appreciate our bodies.

A pull here.

An ache there.
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And sometimes outright pain that makes us feel like not moving at all.

You feel broken.
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​I get it. I'm there right with you.​

How do you manage the pulls, aches and pains your body has?

Is it time to listen to what your body is telling you?
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I mean, really listen.

How can you change the way you interpret your discomforts?

Recently, I've been learning about the Japanese art of repairing the broken, Kintsugi.

Essentially, it is the practice of physically mending areas of breakage in pottery.

Think shattered plate dropped on the floor!

The Kintsugi practice takes all those broken pieces of ceramic and reforms the plate by filling the cracks with lacquer either dusted or mixed with gold, silver and platinum.

Talk about highlighting the cracks with some valuable material!

Now you might ask, "Lisa, what does pottery have to do with physical activity?!"

Well, I'd like you to look beyond the surface and to the deeper meaning of Kintsugi - the appreciation of what is imperfect.

Our bodies have and will continue to have pulls, aches and pains. Thank goodness we get these signals before we really push too hard. Is there a place where we can appreciate these signals?

Can we value and embrace our bodies' cracks and the history they represent?

With doing so, will this allow you to connect to your story, your history and more the way your body can move in this moment?

On this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I encourage you to consider the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Look for the ways your body, with its imperfections, can move well.

Say thank you.

Give thanks to all the cracks that can be highlighted with liquid gold.

​If this is intriguing to you, watch this recent video on the concept of Kintsgui and how it relates to how our bodies feel.​

Stay well and happy moving,

Lisa